Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to make a brief opening
statement.
I would like to start by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on
which we meet and pay my respect to elders past and present.
I am pleased to report that the national vaccination program continues to make
significant progress.
We have passed 52 million doses administered in Australia and I am pleased to
report that Australians continue to come forward and take up their opportunity
for a vaccination.
Australia is over 94 per cent fully vaccinated and as I have reported before, we
have the 8th highest double dose vaccination rate in the OECD.
Our vaccination rates are higher than our closest neighbours, including New
Zealand, and ahead of many other advanced economies, Italy, France and the
United States to name a few.
The vaccination program for children and adolescents has also seen significant
progress.
Over a million doses have been administered to children aged 5 to 11. This is a
rate of 48.1 per cent. This is faster than the vaccination rates of the same group
in countries like the United States, Germany and Israel.
The 12 to 15 year old vaccination rate is now 84.4 per cent first dose, and 78.2
per cent fully vaccinated.
Over 10 million Australians have already received their booster – which is
nearly 60 per cent of the eligible population and over half of the total
population, noting that around 4 million, or half of those yet to receive a
booster, only became eligible this month.
Around 80 per cent of Australians over 70 have received a booster.
We are ahead of countries like Hungary, New Zealand, the United States and
Japan.
I want to take this opportunity to ask all Australians to take up a booster to
ensure you, your families and your community have the best protection from
COVID-19.
There are more than 9 million booster doses in fridges across Australia and over
10,000 points of presence across the country where you can take up your
vaccination.
Last week, we introduced a fourth vaccine to our program with the delivery of
the Novavax vaccine and hundreds of thousands of doses are being shipped
across the country this week.
There are appointments and walk-ins available every day and now is the time to
ensure you are up to date with your vaccination.
Efforts to provide boosters to Residential Aged Care Facilities and shared
disability accommodation sites have been our highest priorities.
All Residential Aged Care Facilities have now received an initial booster clinic.
We have concurrently commenced a second round of clinics, ensuring booster
access for remaining residents. Around 450 sites have already received a second
visit.
This has resulted in 86.1 per cent of eligible residents in Residential Aged Care
Facilities having received a booster dose and 77.9 per cent of all residents.
All residential disability accommodation settings have been contacted to offer
an in-reach booster clinic. 3,793 disability sites have been completed and over
900 sites are scheduled for a booster clinic shortly. 73.4 per cent of eligible
residents have received a booster dose, well ahead of the national take-up rate.
Focus also needs to remain on completing primary course for Indigenous
Australians. 82.7 per cent of Indigenous Australians have received a first dose
and 77.4 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The gap in vaccination rate has closed by more than 12 percentage points during
the implementation of our Accelerating Indigenous Vaccinations Plan, since
September last year.
36,603 or 28.8 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
aged 5 to 11 have taken up their opportunity for a vaccination too.
I urge parents to come forward and book an appointment for their children.
Thank you to all the parents who have already ensured their children are
protected with a vaccination.
I would like to once again say thank you to the GPs, pharmacists, Aboriginal
health workers, nurses and vaccine providers, and all the distribution network
staff and logistics support that continued to work over the holiday period to
ensure our strong vaccination rates, and our strong protection against COVID
was maintained.
The success in each of these areas has been a result of the partnerships that have
been developed across the program, and I thank everyone who has worked with
the vaccine program and will continue to work with us over the months ahead.
I continue to strongly encourage people to continue coming forward for their
booster. There is more than enough supply, more than enough sites and
bookings available for you to get your booster protection.
Thank you again for the opportunity to make this statement and I look forward
to your questions.
